Superbright LEDs

The players. Brightness for Size. Some wiring issues

Superbright LEDs have awesome lumen output for their tiny size while driving current is at 100s to 1000s milliamperes.

Review of products, players, upgrade kits and drop ins. 

What Counts Super bright?

The fact that we don't call all bright LEDs superbright - and it has something to do with the size ...

Just one look at them and you will know they are definitely (non)-Bulbs. ;-) And compared to their tiny size, they have incredibly bright properties.

The brighness of all super bright LEDs exceeds most other leds by a power factor. The trade off, of course, is that they also draw more power.

And they generate more heat. Any good design should take these into consideration.

the players

The two players that easily make the mark are the Luxeon Star and the Lamina superbright LEDs.

Luxeon Star LED is a special type of bright led. It has a special star shape to incorporate the light engine and the circuitry. Luxeon LEDs are current regulated.

If you put in a voltage regulated circuit you must use aresistor as ballast, but this is not recommended.

For testing and experimentation a simple DC voltage source with a current limiting resistor will work quite well. As to the circuit, it is highly recommended that a commercial driver or pulse width modulation (PWM) is used.

Luxeon sells both the  low voltage AC and DC dimmable LuxDrive driver series and the Xitanium high voltage driver series that plugs into the AC mains.

pros

• You can use standard hand soldering tools
• Very thin, very light
• The star shape also acts as a heat sink

cons
none found

Luxeon also sells the TerraLUX MiniStar30M 500+ lm bulb set as a 4-5-6 D Cell Maglite flashlights upgrade kit for both rechargeable and non-rechargeable Mags.

pros

• Current regulated, no tools required
• Heat sinking circuitry and body included
• 500+ lumens

cons

• Check on Maglite site list if acceptable for warranty. Mag retains the right to change this from time to time.

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Lamina created its own powerful light engine that has evolved over the years. It now also features single point super bright RGB or 16M blended color operation.

The engines are the Atlas (120 - 300 lm), Titan (1300 lm) series that each needs added heat sinking. -- Note that lumens are included here for white LEDs.

And lately the Sol (200 - 245 lm) -- an MR16 drop in replacement for halogen downlights. Color versions also produce various whites from cold to warm color temperatures.


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pros

• Aside from what was mentioned, Lamina provides certified carbon emission saving informaion. A BIG plus in my eyes.
• Has no lead or mercury, which would be enviromentally toxic and costly to recycle
• Modular heat sinks attach as required
• Binning system designed for consistency across various light engines

cons
none found
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Some Drop-in Alternatives

NEW! These drop in LED bulbs are actually brighter then early Luxeon or Lamina products. The only reason they are not considered super bright in the literature, because they draw a higher current.

Brightness and heat

Superbright LEDs have very high output per wattage so intensive heat sinking - a relatively large body or metal like a radiator in the design is definitely needed. (Of course an alternative would be forced air with a fan, but it would defeat the purpose of best energy saving. Still, some commercial LED applications use forced air as heat sink)

Under the hood

With their help of so called super bright nano dots most any surface could -- in theory at least - be made glow with practically any currently achievable brightness.

When that happens, it will be possible for a table-top or a feature wall being lit up by applying a very thin substrate and than plugging it in some power source.



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Related Articles, Resources, Products:

The obvious and some hidden aspects of energy efficient lighting

Break even calculation for investment in LED replacement

(links open new window)

Official Lamina site - mostly for distributors.

Luxeon Star claims brightest white LED for its size.

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